This invention relates generally to an image registration system for an image filing system which stores the images of documents or the like in a file, and more particularly to a system which registrates at one time and highly efficiently a large quantity of images.
When the images of documents or the like are registrated in an image filing system, keywords for search and UDC codes must be registrated as a data base. In addition, bibliographic data such as the title, authors, etc. of the originals must also be registrated with the keywords in order to accomplish an efficient search.
In accordance with the conventional registration system, whenever one image is inputted or after only a plurality of images are inputted at one time, the keyword and the bibliographic data (hereinafter called the "registration data") are inputted manually. In this system, when a document consisting of a large number of pages of images (hereinafter called the "book type document") is registrated, the input work of the registration data may be made once per document. However, in order to display later the original document images in the original sequence (or in the correct page sequence), the input work of the images must be made in accordance with the sequence of a page or a sequence number must be inputted for each sheet of image.
On the other hand, there has been proposed a system which allots a serial number (document ID number) to each of the input images inputted in a file, registrates the document ID number as an index code and eliminates the manual input work of the registration data (e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2222/1981). However, this system does not consider the case where a plurality of kinds of documents are registrated in the same file.
Another system is known in the art which designates part of a character string on the input image, reads the designated character string by character recognition and registrates the result as the index code (e.g. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 17565/1985). However, this system is directed only to registration of those documents which are described in a particular format. In other words, the system does not consider registration of ordinary documents having unspecified formats.
Among the conventional systems described above, one that inputs the registration data for each document involves the problem of low registration efficiency because the input works of the images and the registration data are made by turns from the keyboard or the like. The system which inputs the registration data while displaying the images that have once been inputted is not free from the problem of low efficiency because processings such as display, confirmation and input must be made by turns.
When a book type document is registrated, a plurality of images must be displayed one after another when they are displayed. The sequence of the images displayed at this time is the same as that of registration. It has therefore been necessary conventionally either to input the images in accordance with the sequence number or to sequentially input the sequence number for all the images. However, most of the book type documents are written on both sides of each sheet. Therefore, in order to input them in accordance with the sequence number, the front and reverse sides of one sheet must be inputted continuously so that efficiency of the input work is low. The system which sequentially inputs the sequence number for all the images must display and confirm the image one sheet by one so that efficiency is low, too, and mistakes are more likely to occur with an increasing number of pages.
On the other hand, the system which allots a serial number to each image in accordance with its input sequence and registrates it automatically as an index code has high registration efficiency but is not free from the drawback that the data that can be used for search is only the input sequence so that search in accordance with the content cannot be made.
Furthermore, the system which designates part of the character string in the input image, reads the character string by character recognition and registrates the result as the index code is effective if the object of registration is limited to a specific document. However, since unspecified documents are registrated generally in ordinary image filing systems, the format of each document to be registrated is different, and in order to input the character string by character recognition processing, the position and format of the character string must in advance been inputted to the system. In other words, an operator must input the format of the character string as the object of character recognition for each document. For these reasons, this system may not be suitable for registration of ordinary documents having unspecified formats. This system may not be suitable, either, for registration of book type documents consisting of a plurality of pages because it reads the index code from each image.